Permits Required.
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 295-1129
in effect295-1129. Permits Required.
1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. It shall be unlawful to use any structure or land, or to erect, alter, relocate, extend, repair or substantially improve any structure or sewer or water facilities, prior to the issuance of a permit. If an amendment to the official zoning map is required, no permit shall be issued by any city official until a letter of map revision is issued by the federal emergency management agency for the proposed change. Furthermore, it shall be the responsibility of the permit applicant to secure all necessary permits required by local, state or federal agencies, including but not limited to:
a. Any permit, certificate or license, including any floodplain fill permit, in accordance with ch. 200.
b. Development which requires a permit from the Wisconsin department of natural resources under chs. 30 and 31, Wis. Stats., as amended, such as docks, piers, wharves, bridges, culverts, dams and navigational aids. Such development may be allowed if the necessary permits are obtained and amendments to this subchapter are made according to s. 295-1117.
2. PERMIT APPLICATION; GENERAL INFORMATION. Information on the application for a permit required under this subchapter shall include:
a. The name and address of the applicant, property owner and contractor.
b. A legal description of the property, along with a description of the proposed use and whether the project will involve new construction, alteration, relocation, extension or substantial improvement of a structure.
3. SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN. A site plan drawn to scale shall be submitted along with the permit application. The site plan shall contain:
a. The location, dimensions, area and elevation of the lot.
b. The location of the ordinary highwater mark of any abutting navigable waterways.
c. The location of any structures, with distances measured from the lot lines and street center lines.
d. The location of any existing or proposed on-site sewage system or private water supply system.
e. The location and elevation of existing and future access roads.
f. The location of floodplain and floodway limits as determined from the official floodplain zoning maps.
g. The elevation of the lowest floor of any proposed building and any fill, using national geodetic vertical datum.
h. Data sufficient to determine the regional flood elevation, in national geodetic vertical datum, or North American vertical datum, at the location of the development and to determine whether the requirements of s. 295-1121 or 295-1123, as applicable, are met.
i. Data sufficient to determine whether the proposed development will cause an obstruction to flow or an increase in regional flood height or discharge in violation of s. 295-1119. This may include any of the information described in s. 295-1121-2-b.
4. HYDRAULIC AND HYDROLOGIC STUDIES TO ANALYZE DEVELOPMENT. a. Supervision and Review. All hydraulic and hydrologic studies shall be completed under the direct supervision of a professional engineer registered in the state of Wisconsin. The study contractor shall be responsible for the technical adequacy of the study. All studies shall be reviewed and approved by the Wisconsin department of natural resources.
b. Zone A Floodplains and AE Zones Within Which a Floodway is not Delineated; Hydrology. The appropriate method shall be based on the standards in ch. NR 116.07(3), Wis. Adm. Code.
c. Zone A Floodplains and AE Zones Within Which a Floodway is not Delineated; Hydraulic Modeling. The regional flood elevation shall be based on the standards in ch. NR 116.07(4), Wis. Adm. Code, and the following:
c-1. Determination of the required limits of the hydraulic model shall be based on detailed study information for downstream structures (e.g., dams, bridges and culverts) to determine adequate starting WSEL for the study.
c-2. Channel sections shall be surveyed.
c-3. A minimum 4-foot contour data in the overbanks shall be used for the development of cross section overbank and floodplain mapping.
c-4. A maximum distance of 500 feet between cross sections is allowed in developed areas with additional intermediate cross sections required at transitions in channel bottom slope, including a survey of the channel at each location.
c-5. The most current version of HEC-RAS shall be used.
c-6. A survey of bridge and culvert openings and the top of road is required at each structure.
c-7. Additional cross-sections are required at the downstream and upstream limits of the proposed development and any necessary intermediate locations based on the length of the reach if greater than 500 feet.
c-8. Standard accepted engineering practices shall be used when assigning parameters for the base model such as flow, Manning’s N values, expansion and contraction coefficients or effective flow limits. The base model shall be calibrated to past flooding data such as high water marks to determine the reasonableness of the model results. If no historical data is available, adequate justification shall be provided for any parameters outside standard accepted engineering practices.
c-9. The model shall extend past the upstream limit of the difference in the existing and proposed flood profiles to provide a tie-in to existing studies. The height difference between the proposed flood profile and the existing study profiles shall be no more than 0.00 foot.
d. Zone A Floodplains and AE Zones Within Which a Floodway is not Delineated; Mapping. A work map of the reach studied shall be provided, showing all cross section locations, floodway/floodplain limits based on best available topographic data, geographic limits of the proposed development and whether the proposed development is located in the floodway. If the proposed development is located outside of the floodway, then it is determined to have no impact on the regional flood elevation. If any part of the proposed development is in the floodway, it shall be added to the base model to show the difference between existing and proposed conditions. The study shall ensure that all coefficients remain the same as in the existing model, unless adequate justification based on standard accepted engineering practices is provided.
e. Zone AE Floodplains; Hydrology. If the proposed hydrology will change the existing study, the appropriate method to be used shall be based on ch. NR 116.07(3), Wis. Adm. Code.
f. Zone AE Floodplains; Hydraulic Modeling. The regional flood elevation shall be based on the standards in ch. NR 116.07(4), Wis. Adm. Code, and the following:
f-1. Duplicate Effective Model. The effective model shall be reproduced to ensure correct transference of the model data and to allow integration of the revised data to provide a continuous flood insurance study model upstream and downstream of the revised reach. If data from the effective model are available, models shall be generated that duplicate the flood insurance study profiles and the elevations shown in the floodway data table in the flood insurance study report to within 0.1 foot.
f-2. Corrected Effective Model. The corrected effective model shall not include any man-made physical changes since the effective model date, but shall import the model into the most current version of HEC-RAS for department of natural resources review.
f-3. Existing (Pre-Project Conditions) Model. The existing (pre-project conditions) model shall be required to support conclusions about the actual impacts of the project associated with the revised (post-project conditions) model or to establish more up-to-date models on which to base the revised (post-project conditions) model.
f-4. Revised (Post-Project Conditions) Model. The revised (post-project conditions) model shall incorporate the existing model and any proposed changes to the topography caused by the proposed development. This model shall reflect proposed conditions.
f-5. Supporting Information. All changes to the duplicate effective model and subsequent models shall be supported by certified topographic information, bridge plans, construction plans and survey notes.
f-6. Changes to Models. Changes to the hydraulic models shall be limited to the stream reach for which the revision is being requested. Cross-sections upstream and downstream of the revised reach shall be identical to those in the effective model and result in water surface elevations and topwidths computed by the revised models matching those in the effective models upstream and downstream of the revised reach as required. The effective model shall not be truncated.
g. Zone AE Floodplains; Mapping. Maps and associated engineering data that meet the following conditions or include the following items shall be submitted to the department of natural resources for review:
g-1. Consistency between the revised hydraulic models, the revised floodplain and floodway delineations, the revised flood profiles, topographic work map, annotated flood insurance rate maps or flood boundary floodway maps, construction plans and bridge plans.
g-2. Certified topographic map of suitable scale and contour interval, as well as a planimetric map showing the applicable items. If a digital version of the map is available, it may be submitted in order that the flood insurance rate map may be more easily revised.
g-3. An annotated flood insurance rate map panel showing the revised 1% and 0.2% annual chance floodplains and floodway boundaries.
g-4. If an annotated flood insurance rate map or flood boundary floodway map and digital mapping data are used, all supporting documentation or metadata shall be included with the data submission along with the universal transverse Mercator projection and state plane coordinate system in accordance with federal emergency management agency mapping specifications.
g-5. The revised floodplain boundaries shall tie into the effective floodplain boundaries.
g-6. All cross-sections from the effective model shall be labeled in accordance with the effective map. A cross-section lookup table shall be included to relate to the model input numbering scheme.
g-7. Both the current and proposed floodways shall be shown on the map.
g-8. The stream centerline or profile baseline used to measure stream distances in the model shall be visible on the map.
5. EXPIRATION; RENEWAL; LAPSE OF PERMITS. All permits issued under the authority of this subchapter shall expire not more than 180 days after issuance and may be renewed for up to 180 additional days for good and sufficient cause in accordance with the provisions of s. 200-30.2. Permits shall lapse and be void in accordance with the provisions of s. 200-30.
Source: City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, Milwaukee City Charter and Code of Ordinances (city.milwaukee.gov master PDFs)URL: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccClerk/Ordinances/Volume-2/CH295-SUB11.pdf#page=18Fetched: 10/26/2026